Automatic end-thrust counterbalance.



A. C. PAULSMEIER. AUTOMATIG BND THRUST GOUNTBRBALANGB.

APPLICATION FILED APRS, 1912. @u SQ Patente. Man, 1913.

. 4 f/n l` .A A 4 u UNITED s'rATEs 'ALBERT c. PAULSMEIER, or ALAMEDA,

AUTOMATIC ENDfTHRUST COUNTERBALANGE.

Specification of Application filed April 8,

To alli/whom, t concern Be it known that I, ALBERT' C. PAULs'- MELER,"citizen "of the United States, residing -cominggthe end thrust. on theshafts of centrifuga'ljpumps, water turbines, or other apparatus needinga thrust'bearing. 4. Thel invention consists `of the parts and the`combination andV construction of parts 'as hereinafter tmore fullydescribed and r claimed, having reference to theaccompany-` tail insection illustrating the invention.

ing drawing, in which the drawing is a devv A represents ashaft whichfor the purpose of illustration, is shown-as the shaftof a centrifugalpump, in' whichQ is the impeller ;v 3 .theiimpeller case and 4 thedischarge column. kHeretofore it has been proposed to effect anautomatic hydraulic counter-balance of limpeller. shafts by a speciallyde- A -signed' form of` impeller land-case. .In the vpresent inventionlan .automatic counterbalance is effected entirelyfoutside the pump caseand is-apv licable tothe shafting at any desired point in' its length. 1c v *The invention comprises .a ring plate 5 keyed, or otherwisesuitablysecured to the ring plate 5 into two chambers, one a presshaft A, andrevolving in a stationary housing or case 6, which latter is divided bythe sure chamber 7 -subject to the uncontrolled pressure ofthe pumpdischarge, or other i source of supply through asuitable inlet 8;

the other chamber being a variable pressure chamber 9 receiving leakagewater from the chamber 7 and discharging it under predeterminedconditions controlled by the endwise shifting of the shaft A.

The ring plate 5 has a running joint 10 formed by the annularrim portion1l of-v plate 5 with anopposite annular ledge or shoulder on the fixedhousing 6; this running joint .10 being normal to the axis of shaft Thehub 12 of the ring plate 5 on that slde opposite from thechaniber 7 isalso `constructed and arranged to provide a part 1 3 having a surfacenormal to shaft A, adapted PATENT onirica.

CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOE TO BYRON JACKSON IRON WORKS, OF WEST BERKELEY,CALIFORNIA,

A CORPORATON GF CALIFORNIA.

Letters Patent. Patented Mar.,

25, 11913. 1912. serial No. 689,117.

to co-act with amovable annular plug 14 to form a running joint 15. Theleakage Water escaping from the running joint l5 is released at 16 aswastewater. It is by means of these two running joints 10-15 normal theshaft A to carrythe parts ll-l'tcivard and from their respectiveopposedsurfaces that the desired counterbalance or counterthrust isbrought about.

Inoperation the water under full discharge head, or any other headofrdesired pressure is admitted freely to chamber '4' on the under-sideof plate 5. This water in chamber 7creates' an up-thrust; it beingunderstood that the diameter of the plate `5 and the area exposed tothis high pressure in chamber 7 is such as would result in the thrustmovement described. Under'normal working conditions however, of theinvention a certain amount of water leaks through the running joint 10into the variable pres- `sure chamber 9. In this chamber pressureaccumulates yuntil it creates a counter-pres sure suiiicient to bringthe parts into equilibrium and the annulus 1 4 can then be adjusted soas to regulate the size' of the running joint 15 with respect to therunning rium under workin g conditions of maximum 'eiiiciency Y Underpractical Working conditions there is a lilm of'water between the twosurfaces constituting each joint; these iilms separat ing the metalsuiiiciently so as to carry a load with a mirimum amount of friction.The ring plug 14 is 'made adjustable so as to regulate the amount ofendwise shift of the plate 5 and shafting, and also regulating theamount ofwater used for balancing tol most economical advantage..

' Practice shows 'that there is only a very slight Waste cf water, andthe revolving disk 5 is held between the two'surfaces in absoluteequilibrium.

Wvhile l have shown this form of balance applied to centrifugal pumps,itis manifest that it can be used for .balancing any' apparatus wherethere is an end thrust in ene di v--rection, or the other, eithervertical or hori- Zontal. It is also manifest that the details ofconstruction may be varied without departing in any way from theprinciple of the invention.

-to the shaft and the lengthwise shiftingof joint 10, and therebymaintain the equilib- Having thus described my invention what I claimand desire to secure by Letters Pat- 'ent is- 1. In an automatichydraulic counterbalance, the combination of a sha-ft, a source of-waterpressure, a differential piston on said shaft, a casing in which saidpiston operates, said piston partitioning the casing into two chambers,one chamber of uncont-rolled pressure and the other a variable pressurechamber, the first of said charnlbers being in communication with saidysource .of water pressure, the variable pres* sure chamber havingcommunication with the first chamber by means of a running joint formedbetween the piston and casing, and said variable pressure chamber havinga relief 'to an area of lower pressure through a second running jointvformed between said piston and casing, said second running jointincluding a movable plug forvarying the range of lengthwise movement ofthe shaft.

2. A counterfbalance for shafting consiste. ing in the combination witha shaft of a disk secured thereon, and a housing for the disk, said diskpartitioning the interior of the4 housing into 4two chambers, one achamy ber of high pressure and the other a variable pressure chamber,the disk` having means cooperating with the housing to form two runningjoints, both of which are normal to the shaft, one of said runningjoints being between the chamber of high pressure and the var1ablepressure chamber, and `tbe other of said runnin j oints forming the out-:3;: -let for the variable pressure chamber, and

means for varying the distance between said running joints and theamount et leaks@ water therethrough.

3. A. counter-baiance for shafting consisting in the combination with ashaft of a disk secured thereon, and a housing for the disk, said diskpartitioning the Ainterior of the Yhousing into two chambers, one achamber of high pressure and the other a variable v1 pressure chamber,the disk having means cooperating with the housing to form two runningjoints, both of which are normal to the shaft, one of said runningjoints being between the chamber of high pressure. and

witnesses.-

ALBERT C. PAULSMEER.. Witnesses:

F. S. HOFFMANN, Gr. H. PowEL.

